
New Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5 Black Editions turn family SUVs to the dark side
The Black Edition model will sit above Match trim in both model's line-ups, and injects a little more more style into the electric SUVs with a set of 19-inch Onyx black alloy wheels and a panoramic glass sunroof, while the side mirrors, roof, C-pillar and badging on the bootlid are black.
Meanwhile the interior benefits from Volkswagen's 'Top-Sport Plus' pack, which includes sport front seats with integrated head restraints, adjustable lumbar support and massage function, wrapped in suede upholstery. Advertisement - Article continues below
Perhaps the best part is that Volkswagen claims Black Edition trim provides up to £4,625 worth of extra kit and options, but for a relatively small price rise of around £1,800 over the existing Match versions.
Among the standard equipment are a 12.9-inch central touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, matrix LED headlights, wireless smartphone charging pad, keyless entry, a powered tailgate, 30-colour ambient lighting and plenty of driver-assistance tech, including adaptive cruise control.
Every ID.4 and ID.5 Black Edition is powered by a 77kWh battery that provides up to 336 miles of range in the SUV, or 341 miles in the more aerodynamic coupe. Both also produce 282bhp, which is sufficient for 0-62mph in under seven seconds, while a 10 to 80 per cent top-up will take about half an hour from most DC rapid chargers.
However, while the ID.5 Black Edition is only going to be available with a single motor and rear-wheel drive, the ID.4 Black Edition will be offered with the option of a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive '4Motion' set-up for an extra £1,720. There's no extra power, with the additional motor used instead to provide better traction in slippery conditions. Range is reduced to 322 miles, though.
Come and join our WhatsApp channel for the latest car news and reviews...
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
18 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Horse racing to go on strike in protest against government's planned betting tax rise
All scheduled racing in Britain on 10 September will be cancelled and the sport will, in effect, go on strike, as racing escalates its protests against a Treasury proposal to align the rate of duty charged on sports betting with the rate for much more addictive games of pure chance such as roulette and online slot machines. The move to abandon meetings at Uttoxeter, Lingfield, Kempton and Carlisle is expected to result in the loss of around £700k to the industry. The action has been agreed following co-operation between Jockey Club Racecourses, which operates Kempton and Carlisle; Arena Racing Company, the operator of Uttoxeter and Lingfield; and the British Horseracing Authority, the sport's ruling body. Gambling on games of chance is currently taxed at 21% of an operator's gross profits, while the duty on betting – on racing, sports and other events without a fixed profit margin for the operator – is set at 15%. There is an additional charge of 10%pc of gross profits for bets on UK racing for the statutory Levy, which has returned money to racing since off-course betting was legalised in the early 1960s. The proposal to equalise the duty rate for betting and gaming products was initially floated by the Treasury in the final months of Rishi Sunak's Conservative government, but it survived the transition to a Labour administration and was the subject of a consultation process which closed in July. Betting and gaming have been treated separately for taxation purposes since the Betting and Gaming Act came into force in 1961. There is a widespread belief in racing that a levelling of the duty rates will make the sport more expensive for gambling operators and as a result, far less attractive when compared to gaming products with a guaranteed return. Alternatives for the tax regime around gambling include a proposal from the Social Market Foundation think tank that gaming duty could be increased to 50% and sports betting to 25%, with changes to the Levy system ensuring that racing would not lose out. The former prime minister, Gordon Brown, has also advocated for a significant rise in the duty charged on fixed-margin gaming products. Launching the British Horseracing Authority's campaign against the tax proposals last month, Brant Dunshea, the BHA's acting chief executive, said that the sport's stakeholders were 'united in their opposition to the Treasury's proposals to harmonise remote gambling duties'. Dunshea added: 'If the Chancellor delivers this tax bombshell at the autumn budget, not only will jobs be lost but the future of Britain's second-largest spectator sport will be in jeopardy. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'This is why it is vital that the government carefully considers the argument made by all British racing's stakeholders and works alongside us to protect a cherished national institution.' The races lost on 10 September are expected to be added to other cards scheduled around the same time. The date chosen for the racing 'strike' is 24 hours before the start of the high-profile St Leger meeting at Doncaster, which the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and his wife, Victoria, a keen racing fan, attended last year.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
AI to help slash NHS hospital discharge delays, officials say
Technology is being piloted to help free up NHS hospital beds which are occupied by people fit to be sent home, officials have announced. The platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help complete the documents needed to discharge patients, potentially saving hours of delays. The move will allow doctors to spend less time on paperwork and more time focused on care, cutting waiting times in the process, according to Health Secretary Wes Streeting. The technology, which is being piloted at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, extracts information from medical records, including diagnoses and test results. This helps medics to draft discharge summaries, which have to be completed before a person is sent home from hospital. The document is then reviewed by healthcare professionals responsible for the patient and used to send them home or refer them to other services. The tool will be hosted on the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), a shared software system aiming to make it easier for health and care organisations to work together and provide better services to patients The current manual system can sometimes leave patients waiting for hours to be discharged, as doctors may be too busy to fill in forms, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Mr Streeting said: 'This potentially transformational discharge tool is a prime example of how we're shifting from analogue to digital as part of our 10-year health plan. 'We're using cutting-edge technology to build an NHS fit for the future and tackle the hospital backlogs that have left too many people waiting too long. 'Doctors will spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients, getting people home to their families faster and freeing up beds for those who need them most.' The AI tool for discharge summaries is one of a number of projects to be backed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. In January, he said AI will be used to 'turn around' the economy and public services. Elsewhere, the Government has announced that technology shown to halve the time probation officers spend organising notes will be given to all 12,000 probation officers later this year. The system helps to transcribe and take notes from meetings that officers have with offenders after they leave prison. Speaking on a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 'This is exactly the kind of change we need, AI being used to give doctors, probation officers and other key workers more time to focus on delivering better outcomes and speeding up vital services. 'This Government inherited a public sector decimated by years of underinvestment and is crying out for reform. 'These AI exemplars show the best ways in which we're using tech to build a smarter, more efficient state. 'When we get this right across government, we're talking about unlocking £45 billion in productivity gains, delivering our plan for change and investing in growth, not bureaucracy.'


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
AI platform piloted across the NHS in bid to free up hospital beds
A new artificial intelligence (AI) platform is being piloted across the NHS to free up hospital beds, officials have announced. The technology aims to accelerate patient discharges by automating the completion of necessary documents, potentially saving hours of delays. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the move would allow doctors to focus more on care and less on paperwork, thereby cutting waiting times. The technology, which is being piloted at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust, extracts information from medical records, including diagnoses and test results. This helps medics to draft discharge summaries, which have to be completed before a person is sent home from hospital. The document is then reviewed by healthcare professionals responsible for the patient and used to send them home or refer them to other services. The tool will be hosted on the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), a shared software system aiming to make it easier for health and care organisations to work together and provide better services to patients The current manual system can sometimes leave patients waiting for hours to be discharged, as doctors may be too busy to fill in forms, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Mr Streeting said: 'This potentially transformational discharge tool is a prime example of how we're shifting from analogue to digital as part of our 10-year health plan. 'We're using cutting-edge technology to build an NHS fit for the future and tackle the hospital backlogs that have left too many people waiting too long. 'Doctors will spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients, getting people home to their families faster and freeing up beds for those who need them most.' The AI tool for discharge summaries is one of a number of projects to be backed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. In January, he said AI will be used to 'turn around' the economy and public services. Elsewhere, the Government has announced that technology shown to halve the time probation officers spend organising notes will be given to all 12,000 probation officers later this year. The system helps to transcribe and take notes from meetings that officers have with offenders after they leave prison. Speaking on a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 'This is exactly the kind of change we need, AI being used to give doctors, probation officers and other key workers more time to focus on delivering better outcomes and speeding up vital services. 'This Government inherited a public sector decimated by years of underinvestment and is crying out for reform. 'These AI exemplars show the best ways in which we're using tech to build a smarter, more efficient state. 'When we get this right across government, we're talking about unlocking £45 billion in productivity gains, delivering our plan for change and investing in growth, not bureaucracy.'